• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion

Covid highlights deep-rooted inequalities we’ve papered over for decades

Vulnerable children and families - and those already experiencing disadvantage - risk becoming the forgotten victims.

Guest Contributor by Guest Contributor
2020-05-22 14:07
in Opinion
children on swings

Credit;PA

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

Several weeks into the lockdown, many of us are getting used to the new normal of social distancing, working from home and home schooling.

Yet the reality is very different for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable and disadvantaged families across the UK who are experiencing much more serious challenges as a result of the lockdown.

When I think back to my own childhood, I can’t imagine how my family would have managed during this crisis. For my parents, who had come to the UK from Kashmir and who couldn’t read or write in any language, this would have been a very worrying time. My father, was a shop floor labourer, would most likely have lost his job by now.

I’m conscious that Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities have been especially hard hit. They are more likely to catch the virus, and less likely to recover from it, but they are also more vulnerable to many of the social consequences. For example, Muslims like me are now marking a holy month of Ramadan like no other in our lifetime.

More generally, social divides have never been so pronounced.

Self-isolating is one thing in a large house with a garden and a secure job that can be done from home. It’s a very different experience for a single parent whose job is on the line, living in a small flat in a tower block, with no outside space.

Inequalities

There has been talk of coronavirus being a ‘great leveller’, but at Barnardo’s we see the opposite. Fundamentally, this crisis is highlighting deep-rooted inequalities that we have been papering over for decades. Vulnerable children and families – and those already experiencing disadvantage – risk becoming the forgotten victims.

RelatedPosts

Elevenses: The Tractor War

‘Scam’ Cryptocurrencies and the ’looking glass’ world of finance

Elevenses: Stick It To The Politicians

If the local elections tell us anything, it’s that our democracy desperately needs a kiss of life

Parents are desperately trying to do the best they can for their children. But with a maximum of just 5% of vulnerable children attending school there is a huge divide between those who can learn at home and those who can’t. Parents are bombarded with resources which are meant to help, but this approach simply won’t work in all families or communities.

Some parents can’t help with home learning, and ‘digital poverty’ – lack of devices or internet access – means many children already at a disadvantage will continue to fall behind at school.

This also means that many children can’t access vital support services, whether that’s face to face with a support worker or online.

With families facing increasing emotional and financial pressures, we know a growing number of children are at serious harm – isolated from the support systems they usually rely on. Yet at the same time, these children are less likely to be identified and referred for support. In a recent survey, 45% of Barnardo’s frontline workers said that referrals have fallen since lockdown – and referrals to statutory services have fallen too – meaning vulnerable children are left suffering in silence.

For example, children who care for unwell relatives are often overlooked, especially when they come from BAME communities. The Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre has found that BAME individuals are three times more likely to get seriously ill from coronavirus than their white peers, while a Guardian analysis showed that people from minority groups appear to be overrepresented among the coronavirus deaths, by as much as 27%. This will result in a growing number of BAME children taking on additional responsibilities for ill relatives, and, sadly, suffering bereavement. 

Family conflict

For many other children, home is no longer the safe place it used to be. 57% of Barnardo’s frontline staff are concerned about an increase in family conflict and stress during the lockdown. We already know domestic abuse has skyrocketed – in the UK and around the world – and there are growing concerns that children are more at risk of sexual, physical and emotional abuse too.

The inevitable consequence of this pressure cooker environment is that we will see more family breakdown, more children entering care or suffering abuse, and demand for mental health services moving from crisis to catastrophe.

At Barnardo’s, we acted quickly to adapt our essential services so that we can reach vulnerable children and young people online or over the phone, and we’ve even expanded our work to ensure families falling into poverty have access to basic necessities like food and toiletries.

Like many other charities, we are stepping in as families fall through the net. If we don’t, they will require far more extensive, and expensive, support in years to come.

But we are facing a perfect storm, with our income decimated overnight while demand for our support grows daily.

Charities are the glue that hold society together. The shockwaves of COVID-19 will be felt throughout society for years to come – especially by the most vulnerable – and we must be there to pick up the pieces. To respond to this growing need, we are more reliant than ever before on the generosity of the great British public.

By Javed Khan, Barnardo’s Chief Executive

Related – PMQs – Johnson feigns ignorance as he lumps Starmer in with “experts”

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

Facebook Will Be ‘All Video In Five Years’

Dominic Raab knocked out and Boris Johnson cements lead in second round of Tory Leadership contest

Matt Hancock makes tearful closing speech as Govt sees off biggest rebellion in this Parliament

Weather forecast, alerts and UVB index for London, Tuesday 20 April 2021

GMB, Unison & Unite submit pay cap busting claim for police staff

Brexit: Huge increase in Irish passports issued since UK opted to leave EU

Covid: Reactions as lockdown protestors storm OPEN shopping centre and force it to shut

‘I fear for their lives’: Brit begs for help as mother and sister stranded in Kabul

Manchester By The Sea: Review

Watch: BBC QT ‘irresponsible’ for asking anti-vaxxers to appear on show

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.